33 Tried and True Tips for a Sparkling House

Household chores are a fact of life — no matter how we tackle them, there’s no getting around them. Sometimes we divide them up among family members and try to turn them into a game; at other times, we simply integrate them into our weekly routine. Either way, we’re eager to make them as easy as possible, and we want our tactics to be both cheap and effective.

Because 33 opinions are better than just one, we’ve asked the global Houzz community for household cleaning tips that will transform the novices among us into veritable pros. From herbs for deterring insects in Australia to green tea for banishing bad smells in Japan, these magic tips have one thing in common: They’ve been tested and approved by the best experts around — you!

4. Putting out a saucer of cotton balls steeped in vinegar will quickly eliminate cooking smells, such as from cauliflower or cabbage, says Houzz Australia user islanine.

5. Pop over to your local dollar store and grab a magic sponge, says U.K. home stager Amanda Caley of Property Reviver Ltd. “They are excellent for removing all sorts of marks and you only need to add water — no chemicals.”

7. Also proclaiming the power of vinegar is Houzz Italy user mikea62, who notes you can use this versatile ingredient to remove limescale from your kettle. Simply mix one part vinegar to one part water in the kettle, bring to a boil and let sit for about 15 minutes.

8. When it comes to keeping the fridge clean, Danish Houzzer Pernille Jensen says it’s a good idea to keep food away from the back wall, as bad smells can develop. “Food residues get attached to the ice [at the back of the fridge], which then melts and becomes moldy water.” Check your refrigerator once a week to avoid a big clean.

9. Here’s another easy and natural tip from Denmark from Rie Munthe-Rasmussen. “I sometimes use a lemon to dissolve the limescale that builds up on faucets or around the drain. Let the lemon or lemon juice sit for a while to allow it to penetrate.”

10. Want to know how to make your microwave spick-and-span? Try this nifty trick from Houzz France user Val Cats. “Take a damp cloth, make it into a ball and place it in the microwave. Heat the cloth for one minute until it gives off steam. This will loosen all the food debris stuck on the microwave’s internal walls, allowing you to remove it with a simple wipe of the very same cloth.”

11. “If you want to make your silverware sparkle like new again, take a container that’s big enough to hold all your cutlery, line it with aluminum foil, and fill the base of the container with salt. Now fill the container with water, place your cutlery in it, and stand back and admire the results,” says Houzz France user Yves Chasselin.

13. For hard water spots on the outside of windows, U.K. Houzzer Jean says it takes only a couple of drops of toilet cleaner designed for lime and rust deposits: “On a wet rag (wear gloves) wipe on, let it sit for a few minutes, then rub lightly and rinse. Works great.”

15. Houzz France user veillet has this little trick for removing dog and cat hair: “Put the leg of a pair of pantyhose on a broom and it will pick up everything in its path. Then simply turn it inside out and throw it away — magic!”

16. “I love my vacuum cleaning robot! It works exactly as I imagined it would: It’s quiet, thorough and completely reliable. My little helper impressed me so much that I decided to buy a robotic lawn mower too,” says German Houzzer kirchmaier.

17. Houzz Italy user agnese guanella sprays vinegar diluted with water on the floor to keep ants and small insects at bay. “If you do it every two weeks, that’s sufficient. You can even use it if you have cats or other pets at home, since vinegar contains no harmful chemicals — the perfect solution!”

18. “To clean your floor tiles, mix 1 pound (about 450 grams) of oat bran with about 10 pints (5 liters) of water and let sit for roughly 25 minutes. Once the mixture is ready, use a sieve to strain the liquid, which you now use to clean your floor. Leave it on the floor for five minutes before rinsing it off with clean water. Works a treat,” says French Houzzer Germaine NGDEAN.

19. To clean and polish wood floors, make a small bag the size of your palm using a worn-out cotton cloth such as an old T-shirt. Fill the bag with rice bran and sew up the opening. Now moisten the bag a little and use it to clean and polish flooring, walls — in fact, anything made of wood, says Houzz Japan editor Atsuko Tamura.

BATHROOM

20. Try this tip from Danish Houzzer Dorthe Puccio, who uses a mixture of dishwashing liquid, vinegar and ammonia to remove soap scum, limescale and dirt from the shower. “It works every time and saves me a lot of money!” she says. “However, it should not be used on marble, as the vinegar breaks down the limestone surface!’’

21. “I don’t know if it’s unusual or a bit dangerous, but I use razor blades to remove the limescale around faucets and in the bath tub. It works very well,’’ says Houzz Denmark user Trine Nyborg.

22. Tatiana Medvedeva of Houzz Russia urges us not to throw away old toothbrushes. “They come in useful when cleaning difficult-to-reach places. For example, I use them to remove hairs from the bathtub and drain.”

23. A good tip, which also happens to be eco-friendly, is to use vinegar to remove limescale from a shower door. “I macerate orange peels with a liter (about a quart) of vinegar in an airtight bottle for a fortnight — this improves the smell (although the smell of vinegar disappears quickly). Then, as already recommended, I dry it either with an old newspaper, or, if the frame is made of white plastic, I use a cotton cloth,” says Ana Triay of Houzz Spain.

24. Keep a heavy-duty bathroom cleaner and soap scum remover such as Shower Power in the shower caddy and give the door a spray with it every couple of days as you get out of the shower, suggests Australian Houzzer Sian Sampey. “I haven’t scrubbed a shower in years and my shower doors are crystal-clear.”

BEDROOM

28. “When you’re sick, cut an onion in half and place it on the bedside table — it will absorb any harmful bacteria in the air,” suggests Houzz Australia user Jamie Bailey.

Protect Your Closet From Odors and Humidity

29. “In old apartments, the smell of damp can sometimes be transmitted to clothes stored in closets. To solve this problem, simply use a piece of newspaper rolled up into a ball to absorb the humidity and a glass of warm white vinegar to get rid of the smell,” says Houzz France user Isabelle Blanc du Collet.

30. Houzz Australia user purplewombat swears by borax, which acts as a deodorizer for shoes. “I soak my sneakers in a bucket of water with a couple of tablespoons of borax, then rinse and hang them on the line to dry. They smell as good as new.”

31. To remove ink from clothes, spray them with hairspray, then wash them as you normally do, says Houzz U.K. user 163hrd.

32. To get rid of odors in closets and shoe cabinets, place some charcoal in a small piece of gauze and leave it inside the enclosure, says French Houzzer Germaine NGDEAN.

33. Use green tea as a deodorizer and dehumidifying agent. Wrap well-dried, used green tea leaves in a small piece of gauze, washi paper or a used stocking and put it in a shoe cabinet, says Kawakami Junko of Houzz Japan. “Make sure the tea leaves are completely dry, either by drying them in the sun or microwaving them for a couple of minutes.”

Sharon is the Digital Content Specialist for Coldwell Banker Real Estate, LLC. She lives in New Jersey and holds a BA from Syracuse University. She is passionate about giving back to the community and enjoys teaching STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) at the local Boys & Girls Club. She loves pun-ny jokes and she can watch adorable videos of puppies and babies all day.